The Ural Opera Ballet theatre will perform in Siberia within the Big Tour federal programme. On the stage of the Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre, the guests from Yekaterinburg will present Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot (on June 21) and Sergei Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet (on June 23 and 24).

The Puccini's last opera Turandot was unfinished. Many musicians tried to complete it at different times using the composer's drafts. The Yekaterinburg Opera and Ballet Theatre turned to the first version of Puccini's friend Franco Alfano that includes a happy ending. In this version, the inaccessible Chinese princess favours Prince Calaf who aspires to her hand and escapes execution by solving three riddles. Director Jean-Romain Vesperini and set designer Dirk Hofacker created the image of fabulous medieval China in all its oriental splendour. Vesperini's directorial approach consisted of meticulous work with the libretto and score of the opera.

Romeo and Juliet was staged at the Ural Theatre by one of the brightest and most sought-after modern choreographers Vyacheslav Samodurov. The show has become the hallmark of the opera company. The "shticks" of the production are casual costumes with fragments of Renaissance paintings, as well as set design comprising a dangerously tilted red construction similar to the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. And, of course, the choreography language: classical steps are fused with non-classical dance elements and presented at an agitated state. The general plot of the Shakespeare's tragedy remains unchanged. The show begins as a rehearsal for the ballet Romeo and Juliet. The idea of the struggle between the two clans disappears: the theme of the immutability of habits and the inexorability of rituals comes to the fore. On the stage, young lovers die, but the performers calmly go home; tomorrow a new rehearsal will begin and the story will be performed again.

Let us add that the Puccini's opera Turandot isn’t included in the repertoire of the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre, while the ballet Romeo and Juliet, on the contrary, is one of the popular productions in Krasnoyarsk. In the first case, spectators will have the chance to get acquainted with the operatic masterpiece; in the second case, it’ll be interesting to compare two stunning ballet productions.

Tickets for these performances can be purchased at the theatre box office (open from 10:00 to 20:00 daily, phone (391) 227-86-97), on the Krasopera.ru website, and on the sites of the ticket operators Krasbilet.ru, Kassir.ru, Kassy.ru.